Working Healthy Now

“The first wealth is health.” ~ Ralph Waldo Emerson

Fall is in the air. Before you know it, Halloween will be here. Then Thanksgiving. And Christmas, and New Year’s, and Martin Luther King Day. And Valentine’s Day! Oh, my gosh! it’ll be swimsuit season soon, and I’m not ready!

Sometimes it seems like we live life in the future, doesn’t it? It’s fun to think about that vacation coming up next spring, and it can be daunting to think of all there is to do tomorrow. But rewards in the future require action in the present. Nowhere is this more true than when it comes to our health. It’s all about nutrition and exercise, and it’s all about now.

Real estate does have its physical side – anybody who’s ever slithered through a muddy crawl space knows this. But to a large extent, our profession is pretty sedentary. And as technology allows us to do more and more from our computers and smartphones, it gets easier to sit for longer and longer periods.

My Uncle Fergus has turned sitting into an art form. I’ll bet you know somebody just like him: If you were to turn his computer keyboard upside down and shake it, you’d get enough crumbs to coat three chicken thighs. Uncle Fergus can open a beer, grab a handful of Cheezy Wiggles, and write a notice to vacate without so much as turning his head. I’m pretty sure he hasn’t walked to the end of his driveway in at least six months. He tells me he’s going to start eating right and exercising soon. Yep. Just as soon as he feels like it. Technology has given him the ability to be a true man of leisure.

As for me, I’d rather use technology to improve my health. If you agree, there are hundreds of apps you can use for this. My favorite is MyFitnessPal.com, which offers downloads for both Android and iOS. It’s pretty much a one-stop shop for all things diet and exercise. With it, I can log my food, set exercise goals, record my activity, and calculate the number of calories used for every activity from archery to yoga. I mean, who knew you could burn 501 calories just by playing pool for two hours? And MyFitnessPal has got one of the best food databases I’ve ever seen. I won’t say it has every food or every restaurant chain. But I was sure impressed when I found corn dogs from my favorite convenience store! Not that I would ever eat a corn dog, of course…

With MyFitnessPal.com, I can set goals, make a plan, execute that plan, and monitor my progress. My well-being is there for the taking, and all I have to do is begin.

If I wait until I feel like hard work, I may wait too long. That goes for my business and for my body. Today is the only day I can do anything about tomorrow. And action is the magic word.

Next month: Setting up a healthy workspace.